"The families argued that the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the weapon negligently entrusted to civilian consumers an assault rifle that is suitable for use only by military and law enforcement personnel and violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) through the sale or wrongful marketing of the rifle."

The words used in the argument alone proves they already lost. An AR 15, technically is NOT an "assault rifle" as used by the military. Someone on the wrong side is hoping for a settlement.

This will not end well for the plaintiffs. The lawyers are probably doing this pro bono in the hopes of getting Bushmaster to agree to a settlement.
No way this will stand up if it makes it to the SCOTUS.

Just because it 'resembles' an 'infantry rifle', does not make it an ASSAULT RIFLE....

Connecticut’s highest court has cleared the way for families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to sue over the marketing of the semiautomatic rifle Adam Lanza used to kill.

The families argued that the manufacturer, distributor and seller of the weapon negligently entrusted to civilian consumers an assault rifle that is suitable for use only by military and law enforcement personnel and violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) through the sale or wrongful marketing of the rifle.

The lawsuit, which lists Bushmaster Firearms International as the defendant, has already overcome years worth of legal hurdles after first being filed more than four years ago, more than two years after the shooting at the Connecticut school left 26 people dead.

The families released a statement saying that they are "grateful that our state’s Supreme Court has rejected the gun industry’s bid for complete immunity, not only from the consequences of their reckless conduct but also from the truth-seeking discovery process," said attorney Josh Koskoff of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder.

I can't help but think that the Owner Manual which was issued for this weapon at the time (Part # 1001057 Revised 0813 c2006) more than covers this issue and exonerates the manufacturer, i.e."For all BUSHMASTER XM15 and C15 BUSHMASTER OPERATING AND SAFETY INSTRUCTION MANUAL"
in particular page 3,"Note: For Law Enforcement and Military markets, Bushmaster makes similar models in either Full-Automatic (continuous fire as long as the trigger is pulled) or Three Round Burst (a group of 3 shots will fire as long as the trigger is pulled) configurations. Sales of these models require special permits and are regulated by ATF.";
and the last page,"WARNING: IF THIS FIREARM IS CARELESSLY OR IMPROPERLY HANDLED, UNINTENTIONAL DISCHARGE COULD RESULT AND COULD CAUSE INJURY, DEATH, OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.CAUTION: CAREFULLY READ THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL PRIOR TO LOADING AND FIRING THIS FIREARM. FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PROPER HANDLING AND SAFE USE OF THIS FIREARM - LIVES MAY DEPEND ON IT!

one would think this would be sufficient to have the matter either dismissed; or, a judgement in favor of the manufacturer. But, that's up to the political intelligence of this court to decide now . . .

*note - nothing stated here is intended to infer or imply that said poster does own, has owned or would own such a item. Or that poster has now or ever has had such an item in their possession.

What about hammers? People can use hammers to bash skulls. Or frying pans. AOC even wants the banks that finance such manufacturers to be held liable, there is no end.

And if the manufacturer of a gun is held liable for the harmful purposes, will they also get rewarded for the 200,000 occurrences each year wherein a firearm is used to thwart violence?

the materials that made the item came from somewhere, i.e. the companies who made the metal, the plastics, and all the companies who dug the materials to make those parts; and, are the employees who dug those materials also responsible and negligent too. Best to leave the lid on this box of worms I think . . .

I love the lefty quote from the lawyer, "Remington’s calculated and profit-driven strategy". No ****? Profit-driven? They must be a company or something just like every other company on the planet.

And according the the CUPTA act, "ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment of a method, act or practice prohibited by [CUTPA] may bring an action to recover actual damages". What exactly are they alleging their children were, money or property? What a crock of ****.

Lawyers are hoping for a lottery win for sure because, on the facts, this case is a dead loser.

However, I suspect they are backed by bigger forces and this is primarily a fact-finding mission:

Quote:

The families released a statement saying that they are "grateful that our state’s Supreme Court has rejected the gun industry’s bid for complete immunity, not only from the consequences of their reckless conduct but also from the truth-seeking discovery process," said attorney Josh Koskoff of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder.

These guys want to dig through Bushmaster's documents looking for dirt/sound bites which, I suspect, they think will also lead them to get to dig through the files of other companies files, including at least the NRA.

Lawyers are hoping for a lottery win for sure because, on the facts, this case is a dead loser.

However, I suspect they are backed by bigger forces and this is primarily a fact-finding mission:

These guys want to dig through Bushmaster's documents looking for dirt/sound bites which, I suspect, they think will also lead them to get to dig through the files of other companies files, including at least the NRA.

It is pure politics. This is just a way to keep bad press on firearms in the news for the election cycle. The plaintiffs know this is a loser from the outset. As stated above this suit is being filed to get to other things unrelated to the stated issue. The families of the victims may not be in on the ruse but they will be used for the process.